Say it can’t be so! Two of our most pleasurable activities – drinking coffee and having sex – can be bad for us? Well, according to researchers in the Netherlands, it’s sad but true. Oh – and add blowing your nose. Indeed, all three things can increase the risk of a type of stroke.
Every year, approximately 795,000 Americans have a stroke which is caused by bleeding in the brain. Bleeding can happen when a weakened blood vessel, known as a brain aneurysm, bursts. This can result in brain damage or death.
The researchers at the University Medical Center in Utrecht looked at 250 patients for three years to identify what triggers those ruptures. They found that coffee (10.6%) was responsible for more than ten burst brain aneurysms.
The other culprits in order of frequency were: vigorous exercise (7.9%), nose blowing (5.4%), sex (4.3%) straining to defecate (3.6%), drinking cola (3.5%), being startled (2.7%) and becoming angry (1.3%).
All the risk factors shared one common trigger – they all induced a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for the aneurysmal rupture.
The study was published in the journal Stroke.
For now, scientists agree a lot more research is needed to be carried out to assess whether each of the identified triggers could directly cause an aneurysm.
Robin Westen is ThirdAge’s medical reporter. Check for her daily updates.
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